As a child, I was fascinated by beautiful fabrics and knew from an early age that I wanted to become a fashion designer. My father described my desire to make couture dresses as “non-cash art” and urged me to pursue a banking career. I ultimately achieved my goal.
When I invented the name Rita Lagune, which for me reflects the Yin & Yang aspects of a woman, I was 15 and in France. I was listening to Radio Nova with my French girlfriend when suddenly the voice of a female rock singer caught my attention and I was instantly mesmerized. The singer was Rita Mitsouko and the song, 'C'est comme ça'. I knew immediately that I wanted to dedicate a part of my label to her, that self-confident singer who represented a strong and charismatic type of woman to me. That's where the name 'Rita' comes from.
'Lagune', on the other hand, represents the intuitive, soft, romantic and profound part of a woman for me and is dedicated to my love for the sea. It also reflects part of my roots, because my mother is from the Mediterranean coast.
My fashion encompasses many different styles. The romantic, gentle and delicate side of a woman, expressed by the use of lace and other, lightweight fine materials; for the strong, cool and expressive side I frequently use harder materials like denim or coarse tweeds. The formal language is also different here; the silhouettes are more slick, not so playful and complement the romantic. My customers thus have a range of variations to express themselfes.
The most common feedback from my clients is that they receive compliments repeatedly when wearing my creations. I call that the ‘Rita Lagune Effect’.
Photo by Eva-Maria Horstick
